Tours

Lunch Tours

Lunch tours will take place on all conference days and will last for approximately 1.5 hours. The tours are either by foot or by bus and will leave from the conference venue at the National Library (Tõnismägi 2). Lunch tours are free to attend but need to be booked in advance and are subject to minimum numbers. On Friday (15 June 2018) and Saturday (16 June 2018) you will be provided with a packed lunch which you may bring with you on the tour.

The Town Hall Square has been the hub of Tallinn Old Town for the last eight centuries. The Town Hall on its southern side is the oldest surviving structure of its kind in the Baltic countries and Scandinavia. Its building history goes back to the 13th century. In its present form, it was completed in 1404 when Tallinn was a flourishing Hanseatic city. The interior décor and details that date back to different periods include Gothic wooden benches, lunette paintings and carved wooden friezes from the 17th century, as well as delicate but intricate interior design from the 1970s. Another notable building in the square is the Town Hall Pharmacy (first mentioned in 1422), as it is the oldest in Europe that has continually operated in the same premises.

The Tallinn Seafront is known for its industrial and military complexes built in the 19th and early 20th centuries in order to secure the western part of the Russian Empire. The oldest one is the Patarei fortification complex (1840) that, due to the changed warfare strategy, was never used for its intended purpose and instead served from 1920 to 2002 as a prison. Located next to it are the Seaplane Hangars (by Danish engineering office Christiani & Nielsen, completed 1917) that were the world’s first large-scale reinforced concrete shell structures. The structures were renovated in 2012 and today house the Estonian Maritime Museum. The neighbouring Noblessner Shipyard is one of the three large shipyards in Tallinn that the Russian Empire built in the early 20th century to develop its battle fleet. Right next to the old military harbour area is the Kalamaja district, which was the largest suburb of Tallinn in the 14th century. Most of the dwellings in Kalamaja date from the time of rapid industrial growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, it is one of the best preserved wooden housing areas in Tallinn, with constantly rising real estate prices.

Mustamäe (planned 1958–1959, built 1962–1970s) was the first modernist mass housing estate built in Estonia during the Soviet period. It was intended for 60,000 inhabitants and built on an empty sand-covered plot, following the principles of free plan and functional zoning. The entire area consists of nine smaller micro-districts (mikrorayon) with a separate road network, schools, kindergartens and local centres. Mustamäe consists mostly of five- or nine-storey prefabricated panel dwellings that were designed following all-Soviet housing regulations and examples. Väike-Õismäe (planned 1968, built 1973–1984) for 45,000 residents is rather compact, as there are no mikrorayons. The underlying idea behind the planning was that of a circular town based around a central round pond. As an embodiment of urban utopia – the city as a perfect diagram – Väike-Õismäe today literally looks like “a future city from the past”.

The building of the Estonian parliament (architects Eugen Habermann, Herbert Johanson, 1920–1922), constructed on the ruins of the medieval convent in the courtyard of the Toompea castle, was the first major public building in the newly established republic. The eastern wing of Toompea castle is the former provincial government building from the 18th century. The architecturally forward-looking parliament building has simple expressionist detailing in the exterior facade that contrasts with the ultramarine walls and folded yellow ceiling of the main hall.

NB! Tour participants need to present a valid ID at the entrance of the building.

For centuries, Toompea – or the Upper Old Town – was the stronghold of local nobility which consisted mostly of German and Swedish knights’ families. The most influential of them were buried in the Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin or the Dome Church. The stone church was established sometime before 1233 and has been repeatedly rebuilt since. The vaulted main body of the present church dates to the 14th century, while its Baroque tower is an addition from the late 1770s. The interior of the medieval building also belongs to the Baroque era, with the high altar (1696) and the pulpit (1686) made by woodcarver Christian Ackermann. The church is filled with elaborate coats of arms from the 17th to the 20th centuries, as well as burial stones from the 13th to the 18th centuries. In 1684, Toompea suffered the most devastating fire in its history. This and several other fires are the reason why Toompea, with its 18th and 19th century representative dwellings of noble families, looks architecturally different and newer compared to the Lower Old Town.

After the bombing by the Soviet Air Force in 1944, the new plan for Tallinn was drawn in 1945 and envisioned a new city centre in the Socialist Realist style. Only fragments of the plan were realized, yet there are numerous buildings from that time that demonstrate how Socialist Realism was interpreted in the Estonian context. By the late 1950s the neoclassical principles of design were cast aside and modernism was introduced in the City Centre, in buildings like the library of the Academy of Sciences (1957–1963), the Communist Party Central Committee building (1964–1968) and the “Intourist” hotel Viru (1964–1972) that was provocatively erected in the vicinity of the Old Town. The tour also visits three major post-war public buildings. The Song Festival Stage (architects Alar Kotli, Henno Sepmann, Uno Tölpus, 1957–1960), that represents the famous Estonian tradition of choral song festivals, was designed to accommodate 30,000 singers. The Flower Pavilion (built 1957–1960) by Valve Pormeister is notable for its sensitive approach to the landscape. The Olympic Yachting Centre was the main location for the sailing regatta of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. It is one of the first extensive structures heralding the late-modernist changes in architecture, emphasizing the idea of a building as a complicated system.

The history of the St. Bridget’s Convent in Tallinn – the Pirita Convent – dates back to the 15th century when Tallinn was at its economic peak. The Convent that operated for over 150 years used to be the largest nunnery in Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia). Being only partly built upon St. Bridget’s rules, the architecture of the convent church displayed local features. The Convent was destroyed in the 1570s. Since the 1970s, extensive excavation and conservation projects have taken place on the premises of the convent. The massive walls of the church, unearthed parts of claustral buildings on both sides of the church and the graveyard have survived. Today, the ensemble of ruins, a popular concert venue in the summer, is managed by the sisters of the Bridgettine Order.

Nõmme, the former 19th century summerhouse district that was an independent municipality during the interwar years, became a popular area to build modern private villas as well as small apartment houses. During the 1930s, together with a relatively small number of representatives of the wealthy elite, the middle class became the primary group of clients interested in Functionalist architecture. As building in masonry (bricks, limestone, concrete) and steel was still relatively expensive, a large number of Functionalist private dwellings were built of wood.

Medieval merchants’ dwellings are considered to be representative of Tallinn Old Town. The dwellings changed remarkably after the golden era of the Hanseatic League in 15th century Tallinn. New windows were carved into the pointed gables, and modern colourful details were added and facades remodelled by several wealthy townsmen. The most radical changes were made in the 16th to 18th centuries in the courtyards and in the interior of the dwellings: the living quarters were made wider by adding rooms towards the street and the courtyard, the entire living space became more functional, the rooms became lighter, more comfortable, beautiful and richly furnished. The city was constantly changing through its buildings, even though the street network largely remained the same. The tour focuses on the most notable and well-preserved dwellings of wealthy citizens of Tallinn in the 15th to 18th centuries.

This tour will focus on three churches representing the different periods and social strata in Tallinn Old Town. The Church of the Holy Spirit was first recorded in 1319 and originally founded as part of the neighbouring Holy Spirit Almshouse. The two-aisled church is small compared to other medieval churches in Tallinn, and throughout medieval times it remained the primary church of the common folk. The most noteworthy detail in the exterior is the finely carved clock by Christian Ackermann (1684). The treasures inside include the carved and painted winged altarpiece (1483) by Berndt Notke, the pulpit (1597) and the paintings on the galleries (17th–18th c.).

St. Olaf’s Church was first recorded in its present location in 1330, and the present shape and size probably date from the 15th century. The interior is significant for the great height of the nave (31 m) and the stellar vaults of the chancel. The historicist interior decoration that followed the old Gothic style dates back to the restoration of 1820–1840, following the fire of 1820 that devastated the church.

The original building on the site of the present-day Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord (1732) was built in the 13th century and was a part of medieval Cistercian St. Michael’s Abbey for nuns that closed in 1629. After the Northern War, the church served as the cathedral of the Russian Orthodox denomination from 1716 until the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in Toompea in 1900. The icon screen – iconostasis – from 1732 by Ivan Zarudny is one of the oldest extant iconostases in the country.

The tour focuses on two different unusual structures – artificial landscapes rather than buildings – built in Tallinn in the late 1970s and 1980s. Both represent the specific features of local postmodern architecture that emerged in contact with Tallinn Old Town. The Linnahall Concert Hall (architects Raine Karp, Riina Altmäe, built 1975–1980) on the seafront was built for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Yachting Regatta in Tallinn. Although monumental in scale, the building was kept low to allow for the views that open from Tallinn bay to the Old Town. The roof of Linnahall functioned as a public space, enabling access to the seafront, which had been a closed area in central Tallinn for most of the Soviet period. The reconstruction (architect Kalle Rõõmus, built 1979–86) of the 17th century Small Coastal Gate Bastion that was demolished in 1867 represents the retrospective face of postmodern architecture. Built for the Tallinn Old Town Housing Authority, the complex contains administrative rooms, as well as workshops and a sports centre. Its inner courtyard with neo-historicist and playful symbols is masked on the outside as a bastion with blind limestone walls and a grass roof.

The Russo-Baltic Shipyard (architect Aleksandr Dmitriyev, 1913) on the Kopli peninsula is a remarkable industrial complex of the early 20th century. In addition to immense docks and shipbuilding basins, a number of production buildings, the main building and an extensive factory settlement for the members of management as well as workers was constructed together with a service network (hospital, fire department, police station, church.). In the 1920s and 1930s, efforts were made to turn the workers’ residential area into a contemporary, well-ordered district. Kopli gained a modern community centre and a school. Today, the original, integrally planned structure of the factory settlement is decaying to a great extent.

The construction of the Kadriorg Palace was started by Tsar Peter the Great of Russia in 1718. It was named Kadriorg (Catharinenthal) in honour of his wife, Catherine I. The palace was designed by the Italian architect Nicola Michetti, and its abundantly decorated main hall is one of the best-known examples of Baroque architecture in Estonia. In the 1930s, the palace was the residence of the Head of State of the Estonian Republic. During that period, extensions to the palace were added, such as the banquet hall and orangery, and many rooms were redecorated. The palace served as the main building of the Art Museum of Estonia from 1946–1991. After thorough restoration works, the palace was re-opened in 2000 as the Kadriorg Art Museum, which displays old Russian and Western European art.

Post-Conference Tours

Post Conference Tours will take place on Sunday, 17 June 2018 with an option to choose from a half day tour (9.00-15.00) and a full day tour (9.00-19.00). All Post-Conference tours include packed lunch and entrance fees to museums and/or heritage sites. Post-Conference tours need to be booked in advance and are subject to minimum numbers.

The tour visits three remarkable manors in Northern Estonia: Palmse and Sagadi manors with late 18th century main buildings and Vihula manor that was built during the 19th century as it now appears. There are hundreds of preserved historical manors in Estonia that were built after the Livonian War in the 16th century left the medieval strongholds in ruins. Most of the manors were knight manors (Rittergut in German) of Baltic German nobility who kept their rights and privileges after the Russians conquered Estonian territory in the Northern War in 1710. The 18th and 19th centuries were the heyday of manors in Estonia. One of the reasons behind the growth of manors was distilling, as it became one of the prime sectors of manor economy when the Russian market was opened in 1766. In the Soviet period, the study of manorial ensembles in Estonia became an extensive area of research and one of the main domains of restoration activity in the 1970s and 1980s. Postmodernist nostalgia for the past favoured a reconstruction boom. Palmse and Sagadi manors are particularly good examples of heritage practices of the late Soviet period that, in addition to documented studies and conservation projects, used analogy and phantasy as methods.

From the 1950s–1980s, several hundred cooperative farms — kolkhozes and sokvkhozes — were built across Estonia, introducing an urban-like lifestyle to the countryside. This was enabled by large-scale collective agricultural production that turned out to be a rather successful industry in Estonia. There was more money available for developing wealthy collective farms than in the cities, which boosted a kind of architectural competitiveness between different collective farms from the 1960s onwards. As a result, Estonian collective farm architecture developed into a unique phenomenon in the former USSR with outstanding administrative buildings and modern dwellings, including Scandinavian-influenced row-houses and private houses for the technocratic elite in which life took on an almost petit-bourgeois form. The tour visits well-preserved examples of collective farm settlements near Tallinn, like the Kurtna Experimental Poultry Farm (1965–1966) and the settlement of the Agricultural Research Institute in Saku, as well as the building of the Rapla Collective Farm Construction Office (built 1971–77). The second part of the tour focuses on leisure buildings — company holiday homes and summer cottage cooperatives — in coastal areas where a certain amount of architectural exceptionalism was permitted.

Sillamäe, located near the Gulf of Finland, is an industrial town that was founded in 1946 and had restricted access for other inhabitants of the country. The city was home to the chemical and nuclear industry, especially uranium production, that was a part of the Soviet Union’s military programme. Sillamäe now offers a good overview of Soviet architecture from the Second World War to 1990. The location of the Stalin-era Neoclassicist old town is most picturesque with its staircase descending from the cliff and continuing as an axial boulevard lined by decorated residential buildings until it reaches the sea.

Once a prime example of Baroque architecture in Europe, Estonia’s easternmost city Narva was heavily damaged in the Second World War and almost entirely rebuilt. The few historical monuments that have been preserved include the Hermann Fortress on the border of Estonia and Russia, which is the most diverse and best preserved medieval defence structure in Estonia. The area of the Narva waterfalls is the site of the Kreenholm Textile Factory established in 1857 that was one of the largest textile mills in Europe. Along with the factory buildings, housing for employees was simultaneously constructed and inspired by the working class neighbourhoods of England.

Pärnu, on the southwestern coast of Estonia, has been one of the popular resort towns in the Baltic countries since the 19th century. During the interwar independence years, the former wealthy German, Jewish and Russian vacationers were replaced by the rising Estonian middle class, while also attracting tourists from Finland and Sweden. The next important milestone was the era of being a Soviet health resort town, also in high demand among intelligentsia from Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg) and Moscow. A number of iconic buildings are located in Pärnu. Ammende Villa (Mieritz and Gerassimov, designed 1904) is an example of Belgian- and Austrian-influenced Art Nouveau, with its colourful ceramic tiles and fold iron details. Pärnu is closely connected with the name of the architect Olev Siinmaa, whose white Functionalist villas, including his own house (1931) as well as the Beach Hotel (1935) and Beach Café (1938) with its mushroom shaped concrete balcony, are the finest examples of the Modern Movement in Estonia. From the Soviet period, the sanatorium Tervis (Health) is noteworthy for its Miesian curtain wall aesthetic (1966) and the Neo-functionalist monumentalism of its new wing (1976). The settlement of the Pärnu KEK (Pärnu Collective Farm Construction Office, 1969) is not tied to resort history, but it is a residential showpiece of a large Soviet organization embodying a utopia of communal living. The most outstanding part of the settlement is the 700m long multi-unit apartment building, Kuldne Kodu (Golden Home).

Contemporary artist Flo Kasearu opened her House Museum in 2013 in the house where she is currently living. Her site-specific works address issues of property, gentrification, domesticity, institutional hierarchy and the ability of an artist to mediate her own work within this framework.

Please register for the artist-led tour at the conference secretariat. Meet Flo in front of her house at Pebre 8. Ticket 6 EUR.